Suggestions For Yummy Salad Toppings/Ingredients?

[Wife_and_mommy]

I was thinking Romaine or greenleaf with red/green peppers, red onions, tomatoes. Any other ideas?

Would also love dressing suggestions or just share your favorite. :)

Thanks!




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[LD92599]

Dried Cranberries & slivered flavored almonds w/ a yummy fat free raspberry vinagrette!

Laura
mom to William

LKibala at optonline dot net

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[mudder17]

cranraisins, toasted pine nuts or sesame seeds are also yummy in salad

avocado is wonderful in salads

mandarin oranges adds a nice sweetness to salads

Oh, and beets are also yummy if you want the sweetness

Lime adds a wonderful flavor to salad dressings

You can also add marinated artichoke hearts if you want a more vinegary flavor

Eileen

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[DebbieJ]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE sunflower seeds!

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
Breastfed for 20 months and 6 days

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[VClute]

And here's a recipe for a sweet/tangy dressing:

Put 2/3 cup sugar and 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar with a pinch of salt and the juice of a lemon (about a tablespoon when I'm cheating with the lemon juice in the plastic lemon) in a saucepan over med heat and stir until sugar is melted. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add 1/2 tsp dry mustard, 1-2 tablespoons poppy seeds and a dash of paprika, then whisk in 1 cup light vegetable oil. Put all this in a mason jar and keep it in the fridge, shaking before serving.

I like this on spring mix or baby spinach with thinly-sliced sweet onions, craisins, toasted walnuts and finely shredded cheese. YUM!

Amy in NC
mom to Dixon, born 2/14/05

[kedss]

mango(yummy!)
baby carrots
sprouts
dried cranberries
sometimes I like raw broccoli :)

[Lovingliv]

Baby corns and mushrooms ofcourse!

[kelly ann]

I love marinated artichoke hearts on my salad...yummy!!!! I have been doing this since I was about 10 years old.

[jennifer_r]

I love fruit in my salad - if it's pears, apples or dried cranberries, then cheddar, blue or brie works really well too. I use a spring mix/mesclun for those.

I'll often do an Asian style salad - romaine, mandarin oranges, almonds, crisp rice noodles (LaChoy makes them), grilled chicken (I use the grilled strips from Costco) and a thai peanut dressing. Cucumbers and tomatoes would be fine in there too. Yummy.

I'll also do a "mexican" style one which I take chicken and saute it w/spices (you could probably use taco seasoning) and serve with green pepper, tomato, crumbled tortilla chips, black beans, cheddar, romaine and served w/a homemade yogurt cilantro dressing. You could do the same thing w/beef - instead brown it in the pan, pour some salsa in and some beans and I'd skip the dressing then.

HTH

Jennifer

Mom to:
Christopher 12/29/89
Adelaide 8/23/04
And another DD arriving end of October!

[MeredithsMom]

This is my favorite salad to make at home now:

Earthbound Farms baby romaine
Newman's Own Lite Balsalmic Vinaigrette (just a little)
crumbled bleu cheese
crushed glazed walnuts (at my store they are near the popcorn, of all things)

This is so good that I keep making it week after week; usually I get bored with my at-home salads.

[wagner36]

toasted pinenuts, fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary), goat cheese, shallots, shredded zuccini or squash, blanched broccoli, pears (with blue cheese - yum), beans (garbonzo or kidney)...

My DH makes all his own salad dressing (so good), so I'm spoiled. I do like Annie's all natural dressings, though.

[alexsmommy]

Always gets me raves...
1/2 romaine hearts
1/2 baby spinach
fresh (in liquid) sliced motzerella (sp? I'm brain dead right now)
sliced baby portabello mushrooms
artichoke hearts (drain really well)
black olives
red or yellow bell pepper (small amount so it doesn't overpower other flavors)
croutons
cherry tomato's halved.
I sometimes add sliced chicken breasts if I want to make it a meal. Yummy!
Alaina
Alex 2-4-03

[spanannie]

My favorite salad...I always make this one, and it always gets rave reviews.

Baby Spinach
Gorgonzola Cheese crumbles
Sliced Strawberries
Maple Pecans (in bulk at Whole Foods)
Balsamic Vinagrette dressing (store bought)

It's so yummy!

[spanannie]

Very similar to my salad recipe. Add strawberries....yummm!

[pixelprincess]

My new favorite...

Cubed Cucumbers
Cherry Tomatoes
Cubed Avacodos

Mix the above with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. I have been eating this every day :-)

[Wife_and_mommy]

How am I going to choose???????? Thanks for the great ideas! :)

My salad ingredients sound SO boring when you check out all yours. I've never claimed to be a good cook so I don't feel too badly. :)

Feel free to add more. I'm going shopping later this morning and will check back. The salad's going with grilled burgers but at this rate, I'm not going to want burgers. The salad will be too yummy. :)



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[cmdunn1972]

Thin-sliced steak, cracked pepper, marinated garlic cloves, olives, and fresh-grated piave or romano cheese. :) I usually marinate sliced red onions in a 1/2 red vinegar and 1/2 water mixture for about 15 minutes, just to get the bite out a bit. Also, have you tried baby roma tomatoes? They're more earthy-tasting than beefsteak and fantastic! Basil leaves (just a few thrown in as lettuce) are nice too.

ETA: For dressing, I like the PP's suggestion of basalmic vinegarette dressing or a roasted red pepper dressing.

HTH

[ctmom]

1/2 baby spinach
1/2 chopped romaine
sliced hard boiled egg
crumbled blue cheese
sliced red onion
warmed balsamic vinager dressing
crumbled well done bacon if you want to make it a meal
or

1/2 baby spinach
1/2 chopped romaine
chick peas
chopped apple or pear
rasins
low fat ranch

also, any salad we have my girls LOVE small, pitted black olives on it...

[tippy]

Here's one that is really a meal and always gets raves...

Marinate chicken breasts in Drew's Rosemary Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing for 10-15 minutes and then cook over glowing hot grill pan.
Set aside.

Make salad of romaine lettuce (can also use field greens),
Sliced red pepper,
Sliced or cubed ripe avocado,
Cherry or other sweet tomato,
Well done crumbled bacon (optional but yummy!)

Toss salad with generous amount of Kens CREAMY Caesar dressing. I usually cut the dressing with a bit of wine vinegar. Top with warm sliced chicken and enjoy!

[Tondi G]

Sliced beets and goat cheese... YUM!

I like peas and corn in my salad too when we go to places like Soup Plantation with big salad bars!

I've discovered the Balsamic dressing at Whole foods in the cold section with their preparred salads... SOOO good!

I do like Joey D's Chinese Chicken salad dressing as well!

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/8/01 and Aidan 5/4/05

[brittone2]

My favorites are
toasted walnuts/gorgonzola/sliced pears

I also like walnuts or almonds or pecans with feta or blue cheese, sometimes apples too (like the crunchy/salty/savory/sweet combo...)

After the recent thread, I was hungry for some beets and did a salad last night that was greens, sliced roasted beet, organic blue cheese crumbled over it, and toasted walnuts. I made a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried tarragon with a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt and pepper. It was Y-U-M. I'm having it again tonight since I still have ingredients left over :)